Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
From the estate of legendary Ziegfeld Follies photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston comes this portrait of Follies showgirl Naomi Johnston. Noted illustrator J. Knowles Hare was commissioned by impresario Flo Ziegfeld to create pastel illustrations of Ziegfeld’s glorified American girls as they were captured by photographer A.C. Johnston, for a variety of display and publicity uses. The finished pastel […]
Artist: J. Knowles Hare
An exceedingly scarce and early Art Nouveau period original pastel portrait by Rolf Armstrong dated 1913. A crisply rendered serene take on a sad eyed solemn brown eyed lass. This pastel dates just one year later than his first published works of 1912 for Puck and Judge magazines. His signature had not yet become the stylized scripted font of which we are accustomed to seeing. I have yet to uncover the published version of this work, it was most likely commissioned as a sheet music cover or perhaps a cover for American Sunday Magazine, one of several periodicals willing to take a chance on the young emerging talent.
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
American illustrator Charles Bosseron Chambers created this large majestic portrait of Escamillo from the opera Carmen in the early 20th century.
Artist: Charles Bosseron Chambers
A beautiful oil on canvas portrait painting by the noted female American Golden Age illustrator Edna Crompton. This was exhibited in the 1920s at Beard Art Galleries in Minneapolis as part of their one woman show “Girls of America”. Crompton was a prolific cover illustrator for American mainstream publications including The Saturday Evening Post and Redbook magazine, […]
Artist: Edna Crompton
A dazzling Hollywood glamour pastel portrait of the always radiant Carole Lombard by Zoe Mozert used as the cover for the April 1936 edition of Screen Book Magazine. This published cover illustration is signed lower right and matted behind glass in its original limed wood and black enamel painted art deco moderne frame. Really a […]
Artist: Zoe Mozert
A large c. 1936 signed pastel portrait by Zoe Mozert of the Hollywood film star Loretta Young from about the time of her starring turn in Ramona. Zoe Mozert was a much in demand Hollywood film magazine cover artist during the pre-code years of Hollywood tinsel town glamour. She later settled into a long and […]
Artist: Zoe Mozert
This early 1930s pastel by frequent Golden Age of Hollywood female cover artist Mila Baine, shows a radiant and stylish Norma Shearer looking smart, crisp and alluring. Likely a cover for the title Movie Mirror, for whom Blaine worked often during the period. Handsomely matted and framed behind glass in a fine period frame. Handsomely matted and framed behind glass in a fine period frame.
Artist: Mila Baine
This is the very rare surviving original pastel illustration on board by Emil Flohri of Rudolph Valentino as the title character in Son of The Sheik, the controversial romantic adventure that was unexpectedly the final film starring silent filmdom’s first iconic heartthrob. This signed pastel was commissioned and used as the cover for the September 1926 edition of Motion Picture Magazine, and was published almost simultaneously with the unexpected death of Valentino on August 23rd, 1926. A complete copy of the printed magazine is included in the sale.
Artist: Emil Flohri
Grapefruit Moon Gallery is delighted to offer the original published cover pastel by the obscure female New York City Illustrator Tempest Inman used for the July 1922 cover of Photoplay Magazine. This captures to great affect the smoldering intensity and rugged good looks of the Latin lover film star Rudolph Valentino. This is easily the most famous movie magazine cover in Hollywood film history the image is reproduced as the cover of the hardcover book “Photoplay Treasury” that came out in 1972. This was owned by Ken Galente in New York City who operated The Silver Screen Gallery in the garment district for many years until his death. I had the pastel silk lined and framed in a 22 carat gold leaf frame and it displays wonderfully, the condition is excellent with strong vibrant colors and great clarity.
Artist: Tempest Inman
A sophisticated charcoal portrait by iconic and beloved American artist and illustrator James Montgomery Flagg, dated 1936. A severe yet fetching caricature-styled portait of Hollywood film legend Gloria Swanson during her self-imposed seven year hiatus from Hollywood. Flagg created a series of similar portraits for the cover of Photoplay Magazine during the years 1936 – 1938. This was likely commissioned by Photoplay for the series, but scrapped when a rumored return to film by Swanson failed to materialize.
Artist: James Montgomery Flagg
